AUBURN HILLS, Mich.  Most Grateful Dead fans, among which Luke Walton counts himself, tend to have a certain mystical outlook toward both the music and their individual pursuits.

So it was no surprise that after the Los Angeles Lakers rookie came up with a huge game earlier this week to help his team tie the NBA Finals series against the Detroit Pistons at one game apiece, he noted he had all but looked into the future in a meditative approach to his first championship game.

"I visualize all the time, before every game I play," he said after scoring seven key points and providing a team-high eight assists. "I visualize myself going in and doing things."

And when he does so, he has a bit of help on his arm.

We're talking dancing skeletons.

That's right, dancing skeletons — a tattoo that is unique among his NBA brethren and one that's representative of the band he loves every bit as much as his famous father, Bill Walton, does.

And when Walton received extended court time the other night, one of the happier folks in the land was longtime Grateful Dead publicist Dennis McNally.

"Absolutely," McNally said Thursday. "Bill is very much a part of our family, which, of course, makes Luke a part of our family.

"I was so proud of him the other night. He had a great game, and the thing I found very interesting was the manner in which he contributed the most — all those assists."

McNally, a hoops fan, remembers Bill Walton talking about the distinct parallels between basketball and the Dead's brand of music, which involves intricate play between the musicians, especially when the band goes into one of its extended jams or, well, mystical music excursions.

"There's the anticipation, the following, the trust in one another, the sheer instincts," McNally said. "And if you apply that to basketball, it's pretty much the same thing.

"That's where the similarities end, of course, because there's no competition when the Dead plays, but their style is expressly communicative. To get it done, it takes at least two. And Luke, with his passing and his assists, that is especially communicative — relating well with what your teammates are doing."

And what Walton did in Game 2 was especially pleasing to his coach, Phil Jackson.

"He's a surprise factor in the ballgame," Jackson said about an hour before Thursday night's game at the Palace. "More than likely, Luke will have a part in (Thursday's) game, too."

Whatever happens the rest of the series, Walton will have Deadheads — save the Piston faithful — cheering his every move.